Grants & Funding

Funding Summary

Projects

The project aims to assess the underlying opportunities for using surface methods in measuring ore moving on a belt to control sorting opportunities. It addresses the potential problems associated with rapid motion, irregular topography and dust distribution. It also considers opportunities to get by size sorting information from the data.These procedures already exist at varying levels from TRL stage 2 through to stage 4. The outcome of this proposal is to:a)Assess the advantages and disadvantages for each method including where in an ore sorting environment they are most competitiveb)suggest designs for a series of test that would move the most applicable methods to at least stage 5. to look for opportunities to maximise value in these methods.

The Productura deposit is a pre-feasibility IOCG-style breccia hosted Cu-Au-Mo deposit located in Chile. The aims of this PhD project are to investigate relationships between alteration patterns and ore textures at the Productora deposit, particularly in the transitional ore zone, which may impact on liberation behaviour and flotation response. It will develop quantitative and predictive geometallurgical models through characterisation of the ore(s) and altered rocks at Productora in order to facilitate modelling and prediction of processing behaviour. The emphasis will be on understanding mineralogical and geochemical zonation patterns and their relationship with geometallurgical characteristics of the ores, including mineral texture and physical properties related to processing behaviour. Research techniques will include drill core logging and high resolution imaging, automated optical microscopy, mineral liberation analysis (MLA), LA-ICPMS analysis and ore genesis/geochemical techniques as required.

Controls on geochemistry and mineralogy deportment by size: Frieda River and Los Bronces (2014)$13,950

Description

This project involves experiments in grade engineering. Previous experiments have shown that some ores can be enriched in Cu by size sorting (sieving) after crushing and grinding. While this characteristic is easily measured, research has been unable to find any method to predict which ores will show this characteristic based on data that exists in the normal logging database for the mines where they have studied the behaviour. The aim of this project is to search for novel predictive relationships in two existing datasets. It will support cost effective mineral recovery in low grade Cu deposits by identifying parts of the deposit that would be improved by adding a sorting by size stage before the high cost of fine grinding. If a method is found to predict this behaviour the energy consumption of the Cu recovery process can be reduced leading to a more sustainable minerals industry. The methodology will involve reformatting the existing data, generating new parameters from the data, and running multi-factor analysis with various statistical software packages available within CODES. If any correlations are found, provisional predictive equations will be reported for further testing. A report will be written based on the results of the analysis. The submission of the report will complete the project.

The ARC Research Hub for Transforming the Mining Value Chain will make significant improvements to industry practices along the mining value chain. These changes will enhance ore deposit discovery, mineral processing, and environmental management of ores and waste materials. The Hub will bring together a team of world-class researchers, industry partners and research facilities to deliver end-user driven solutions that are critical to improving profitability and productivity in Australias mining industry.

Geochemistry & Geochronology of Palaeproterozoic Fe-rich Tholeiites and Metasediments from the Georgetown Inlier, North Queensland: Their Petrogenesis, Metamorphic History, Tectonic Setting and Implications for Relationship with theCandidate: Michael James Baker

Origin and distribution of corundum from intraplate alkali basaltic province in Thailand: evidence from field and inclusion studiesCandidate: Phisit Limtrakun

2003

Masters

The geology and geochemistry of granitoides in the Chilara Region, Western Gawler Craton, South Australia: implications for the Proterozoic Tectonic history of the Western Gawler Craton, and development of lode-style gold mineralisation at TunkilliaCandidate: Gary Michael Ferris